After making the trip out to the Davis Mountains and Guadalupe Mountains for
one of the best birding trips I have taken in a couple of years, I was thinking
about the times that I spent with Steve Gross in West Texas. It has been
almost 2 years since he passed and I still miss him. Many of you have no idea
who I am, which is fine, this is not about me. Lets just say that I am one of
the many birders that Steve helped to love birding. Steve Gross is gone but
should not be forgotten. He was very active in working with new and young
birders to give them the desire to learn more about birding. That being said
his name comes up less and less as I talk to other birders that knew and loved
him, and I have a problem with that. So lets remind you of what you felt:
http://www.texasbirds.org/publications/newsletters/newsletter_winter_2014.pdf
Obviously, there were a lot of emotions at the time and a memorial fund was set
up by TOS based on this motion:
I Move that we establish a TOS memorial to endow future youth birding
teams in Steve's name and that the memorial is recognized with a
suitable plaque or monument in one or more of TOS's sanctuaries to be
determined at a later date.
To my knowledge there was nothing done with the money and no plaque was placed.
As somebody who has no direct access to the inner workings of what goes on
with the TOS, I cant say why nothing has been done with that money in almost 2
years, but I dont want this being swept under the rug any longer . After
discussing this with some people who do know more than I do, I decided that it
was time to bring this back to the surface. There is a TOS meeting coming up
and I would like to have them discuss the options of what they are going to do
with the collected money. I have a couple of ideas that I would like to
suggest:
First, a plaque recognizing Steve as expressed in the motion should be placed.
I have a friend whos son has a business that could make this for a reasonable
fee. I asked him to get me some ideas of costs and I will forward them to Bron
or Susan when I get the information. Something simple like Steve Gross,
President TOS 2011-2012, Above All He was a Teacher and then a picture of him
pointing a young birder birder with binoculars or a scope toward a bird or
bush. Something really simple. (BTW if anybody has such a photograph that
they were willing to give to me please email it to me at DDolan1075@xxxxxxx )
Next, to keep up the idea of youth birding, instead of a one time endowment, I
would like to suggest that TOS set up an annual Steve Gross Memorial
Fundraiser for support of youth birding as seen fit by the TOS to include teams
and other outreach programs, depending on what can be raised.
As somebody with very little pull within the birding community, I felt like
this letter was the only way to get things moving in the right direction. Time
makes it harder to get people motivated, seeing that originally, I could get
this fund set up, with a lot of help, in less than a week, hopefully this
reminder will start the momentum that is needed to finish this project.
Thanks to everybody who helps to get this done,
Dave Dolan, The Woodlands, TX
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